Gymnast Plant
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Shown for a regular-footed rider. Teal ring + arrow = the rider's facing direction; teal band = the tail; a dot is where a hand holds the board - bright yellow for the front hand, amber for the back one, which is the whole difference between a mute and an indy. Board and rider rotate independently - each follows its own component. Drag to orbit.
How it works
A flatground handplant from the street-plant family Ed Templeton and the 1980s freestyle crossover made famous: the rider plants one or both hands on the ground (or on the deck), swings the legs up and over gymnast-style while the free hand or feet keep the board, and swings back down onto the board to ride away. The plant arm works like a pommel-horse support - shoulders stacked over the wrist, hips driven overhead by the swing's momentum rather than muscled up. The board is either held against the feet through the arc or parked and re-mounted on the way down.
Step by step
- Roll slowly, crouch, and grip the board's nose with the non-planting hand (or trap it against the feet).
- Reach the planting hand to the ground ahead of the board.
- Kick the hips and legs up and over the planted arm in one gymnastic swing.
- Stack shoulders over the planting wrist at the apex, legs together or split for style.
- Reverse the swing, steering the board under the descending feet.
- Set the wheels down, land on the bolts, and release the plant hand to roll away.
Body mechanics
| Front foot | Leads the upward kick and re-finds the front bolts on the descent. |
|---|---|
| Back foot | Drives the swing's momentum off the ground or deck and lands the tail-side bolts. |
| Shoulders | The planting shoulder locks over the wrist as the load-bearing column at the apex. |
| Arms | One arm is the plant pillar; the other holds the board or extends as counterbalance through the arc. |
| Gaze | At the ground beside the plant hand through the apex, then to the board for the re-entry. |